Establishing an ASHRAE Student Branch

If your educational institution does not have an ASHRAE Student Branch, then you may be interested in forming one. Students interested in an HVAC&R career are encouraged to participate in ASHRAE to further their knowledge, practical experience, and professional development. There are more than 220 active ASHRAE student branches.

The purpose of an ASHRAE student branch is to get more students interested, concerned, and involved in pursuing a career in the field of heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and refrigeration. Student membership in ASHRAE and involvement in a student branch can be a good beginning towards meeting this goal.

Student Branches offer student members the opportunity to interact and "network" with members of the sponsoring ASHRAE Chapter, to participate in technical tours, learn from guest speakers, present technical papers, and to interact with other students with the same career interests. Establishing a student branch is easy and the rewards are great. All you need is a minimum of 10 student members, a faculty member or local ASHRAE member who is interested in being the student branch advisor, and a local ASHRAE chapter willing to sponsor the branch.

In rare cases, branches are in a locale with no ASHRAE chapter to sponsor it. Under these circumstances, an advisory committee may sponsor the branch. An advisory committee is comprised of 3 individuals with at least 2 years experience in the HVAC&R field (industry or academia). It is preferred that all 3 individuals be ASHRAE members; however, if this is impossible, at least one member must be a current ASHRAE member.

A local ASHRAE chapter can greatly benefit by sponsoring a student branch. Through the student branch, local members may have the opportunity to influence teaching techniques and have access to a steady stream of qualified engineering graduates. All levels within the Society encourage the formation and continuation of active student branches.

The ASHRAE Board of Directors may authorize the organization of a student branch in any school of "acceptable standing."

What Is a School of Acceptable Standing?
It is the consensus of ASHRAE's Student Activities Committee that the sponsoring chapter should be the sole judge of whether the school is of "acceptable standing." It is also noted that since the requirements are fairly rigid for a student to become an ASHRAE student member, any school which can get together 10 students who meet the requirements for ASHRAE student membership and want to form a student branch, with a proper advisor and the sponsorship of a local ASHRAE chapter, should be granted a charter for a student branch.

Procedures to Establish an ASHRAE Student Branch
The first step in establishing a student branch is contact between the school and the sponsoring ASHRAE Chapter. Having an interested faculty member or local ASHRAE member who is willing to be the student branch advisor is one of the most important steps in forming a branch. Your chapter will also need to be supportive of the branch not only in the formation of the student branch but in its ongoing activities as well. Once you have the commitment of an advisor, support of a local ASHRAE Chapter, and of course, student interest, then the rest of the steps will be easy.

The five steps necessary to establish an ASHRAE Student Branch are:

1. Find a Student Branch Advisor
2. Obtain 10 Student Petitioners (the petitioners must be ASHRAE Student Members or must have their student membership applications in-progress)
3. Obtain sponsorship and support of the local ASHRAE Chapter or an Advisory Committee of 3 ASHRAE Members if there is no local chapter available for sponsorship
4. Complete the Student Branch Petition and Questionnaire
5. Follow ASHRAE Policies and Procedures for setting up your web page.

 Student Branch Questionnaire (updated 9/1/2004) (PDF)

 Petition Sponsored by a Local ASHRAE Chapter (updated 9/1/2004) (PDF)

 Petition Sponsored by an Advisory Committee (updated 9/1/2004) (PDF)

 Web Policy for ASHRAE Groups (June 2005) (PDF)

***These are not interactive forms, so you will have to print them, complete them, and fax or mail them to the Manager of Student Activities at ASHRAE Headquarters***

For a copy of the Manual for Student Branch Operations, which describes the establishment and operations of student branches, contact:

Tarra Holman
Assistant Manager of Student Activities
ASHRAE Headquarters
1791 Tullie Circle NE
Atlanta, GA 30329
404/636-8400
Fax: 404/321-5478
E-mail: tholman@ashrae.org